EXTRAORDINARY AFRICA

Beaches, Honeymoons, Kenya, Masai Mara, Safari, Trip Reports, Zanzibar

Zanzibar and Masai Mara, Kenya Trip Report: December 2023

January 10, 2024January 10, 2024 Alexandra Matts

Daisy and Harry had a magical honeymoon over Christmas and New Year, starting on the beach in Zanzibar before flying to the Masai Mara for a safari. Read on to hear all about it.

I don’t even know where to start- just incredible!

We want to sincerely thank you so much for creating what has genuinely been the best 9 days of our lives to date. Your seamless organisation meant that we didn’t worry at all when moving from place to place and we can’t believe how well it went. Also your help on Christmas Day was so kind and appreciated. All of the transfers (and particularly southern cross) were fab and we met the most lovely people.

Shooting Star was amazing and Zanzibar was just like paradise- we certainly made the most of it and it was the perfect way to relax after a super chaotic month. Wilson and all of the team were so kind and couldn’t do enough for us even at the relaxed pace it seemed luxury! We went to Stone Town and did some snorkelling and it was great to see Island life away from the hotel. Thank you so much for the wine you had arranged too it was really kind of you and such a surprise.

We cannot explain how magical and special our Basecamp experience was. We were both completely blown away from the moment we landed in our taxi plane and within the first hour we saw a leopard kill, lions, elephants, a cheetah and so much more. So rare and so special to see and we couldn’t believe it. Nor could our guides !

We got on with our two guides so well and have truly made two new friends in Dominic and Ntete who couldn’t have been more amazing. We had so much fun with them and learnt so much about them and their family and how their grandfather owned the land that Basecamp was situated on. They also had such a good insight and remarkable knowledge. It was so interesting and we made a point of visiting the Masai village which was brilliant too. It was just brilliant and beautiful and so magical. I cried having to leave and absolutely want to save to go back again! Particularly to go to Basecamp and see all the wonderful people again.

Our booking said shared game drive but we were so lucky to have Ntete and Dominic all to ourselves the whole time! The camp also left a lovely note in our room with a bracelet and some wine which was so kind.

Thank you for suggesting Basecamp, as luxury and extravagance was just not required for us and we are so happy we went with Kenya and the Mara- it was so special to be at Basecamp and learn about all that they do for the community and conservation and all of the team were just amazing. The accommodation was great and we didn’t even think it was basic- it was perfect considering we were in the middle of the bush! We left a review and also made sure to let them know how happy and grateful we were and they were really pleased.

I sound like a stuck record and I am sure you get these emails all the time as you are so good at what you do but we just really want to thank you as it was the best trip. Your experience was invaluable and anybody would be mad not to trust your judgement or recommendation.

We will absolutely want to go back to Basecamp and see our two guides and all the wonderful people again and so will be hoping to get your help again in future !

Thank you so much again for all you have done for us. We will be recommending you to everyone !

Africa, Lower Zambezi, Safari, Solo Safari, South Luangwa, Trip Reports, Walking Safari, Zambia

Zambia Trip Report: October 2023 – South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi

November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 Alexandra Matts

Adam has recently returned from a wonderful solo safari to Zambia. Here’s his post-trip thoughts:

First and absolutely foremost, thank you for your itinerary and in particular your suggestion for Lower Zambezi and Anabezi. The ‘camp’ is truly exceptional and the National Park not far behind! I’m always conscious to avoid recent-ism but… we’ve been all around the world, all 7 continents and I genuinely can’t recall staying anywhere like it. The facilities and people were first class. Given that it was 44c & 45c on the last 2 days, the private plunge pool was essential! Being right on the river and having those activities for the evenings were a wonderful change up from hot game drives! Thank you. I would say you can confidently include Anabezi on any future itinerary without fear of disappointment.

Also LOVED Nkwali, the people were amazing. The guides In Zambia were incredible, such teachers! I know everyone raves about the qualification process from Zambian guides (and Zim of course) but until you experience it… I can honestly say I learnt more in 3 days with Kanga from Robin Pope Safaris than I have in all of my previous trips to Africa combined.

Thank you again, not only for your itinerary but for your communications and organisation. All of my transfers and internal flights were faultless. Your land agents in Zambia were v sweet and looked after me. I shall take a break from Africa (but I thought this after returning from Uganda in March!), when I do return I shall certainly be in touch.

Africa, Cape Town, Madikwe, Safari, South Africa, Trip Reports

South Africa Trip Report: August 2023 – Cape Town, Blue Train and Madikwe

October 4, 2023 Alexandra Matts

Here’s a lovely trip report from Jo and Alastair, recently back from an fabulous adventure in South Africa.

We are back and still floating from our many happy moments and experiences.

The whole trip was a joy, seamlessly put together by you, thank you. You are clearly an expert at what you do.

Your advice in the early stages was invaluable, your knowledge and recommendations never overpowering, to enable us to make our own choices, but guided by your first hand knowledge.

The level of communication we received from you as we approached our departure date was incredibly helpful and enabled us to prepare well. Sorry for the few emails asking questions that had indeed already been addressed by you in your detailed and immensely useful guides!

The app was brilliant to keep all documents close by.

Ilios travel fantastic!

We had cake and bubbles at every location thank you for arranging this..

One and only were fantastic from the moment we arrived to leaving.

The Blue Train was incredible, made even better with the excellent company we had the pleasure of getting to know.

Peech, great place to sleep well as you don’t really sleep on a train.

Federal Air, best check in and lounge, no stress and a delight to sit outside while waiting for boarding.

Madikwe reserve did not disappoint. Dithaba lodge and it’s amazing team looked after us so well. Ryan was our safari guide, a young man whose knowledge was outstanding, never promised anything and yet exceeded our expectations! Apart from Leopard and hippos we saw everything, wild dogs still hidden away in dens for the winter so did not expect to see them. We did see black rhinos and Ryan asked for some of our photos! So it seems that was a rare treat even for him. Plus a rare bird but need to check my note book for its name!

We were treated to a surprise bush dinner with 5 other guests who we had gotten to know well over a couple of days and was a perfect end to our holiday.

So all that is left is for Alastair and I to sort through 5000 photos and bore our friends and family….

It seems safari is on many of our friends bucket lists so we will most definitely be passing on your details. One of my best friends has been going in safari in Africa for 20 years and I will also give her your details, albeit she may already have her go to person.

Thank you for making our trip extraordinary.

Africa

Special offer: 30% discount on a huge variety of safari lodges in Kenya and Tanzania

March 10, 2023 Alexandra Matts

We don’t often rave so much about discounts but this one is too good not to.

Some of our favourite camps in Kenya and Tanzania are offering a huge 30% discount on stays of more than 2 nights for travel between now and the end of May 2023 or from 1st November to 15th December 2023.

With such an array of camps and in various locations included in the offer, it might well be difficult to choose but here’s a quick rundown of a few of the lodges included.

In Kenya, there’s wonderfully traditional Ellie Pepper Camp up in the more peaceful Mara North Conservancy on the edge of the Masai Mara. There’s also Lewa Safari Camp and Loisaba Tented Camp in the Laikipia Conservancy both with utterly glorious views. As well as brilliant game drives, Laikipia is the perfect place for walking, horse riding and camel safaris.

Also in Kenya is the magical Elsa’s Kopje in Meru National Park perched atop a rocky kopje with views abound and the chance for some fairly unusual wildlife sightings. If you’re an elephant lover, there’s Tortilis Camp, a tented camp in Amboseli where there are spectacular herds of elephants amid a stunning backdrop of Mount Kenya.

Across the border in Tanzania, you’re also spoilt for choice. There’s Serengeti Migration Camp in the Serengeti, right on the Grumeti River – the perfect spot for a chance to catch The Migration thundering past but also home to resident hippos. Also in the heart of the Serengeti is Pioneer Camp, eluding understated elegance in a traditional style. Further afield is the Manor at Ngorongoro, a beautiful Cape-dutch style farmhouse near the vast Ngorongoro Crater.

We’re here to help you decide (we’ve been to most of them!) so get in touch with us if you’d like to run through the options and we’ll help pick the camps most suited to you. You’ll need to be speedy though, this offer is only available for bookings made before 20th March 2023 and is subject to availability.

Want to know more?

Africa

Special offer: save £3,000 per person on a 7 night safari in the Selous

November 25, 2022 Alexandra Matts

We don’t believe in Black Friday. But we’ve also been sitting on this amazingly good safari special offer for a while, and this seems a good excuse to shout it from the rooftops.

Beho Beho is one of our favourite safari lodges in both Tanzania and all of Africa. The lodge is lovely, the food is fantastic and the guiding is amongst the best in the country. It’s the perfect place to go for a slow safari, doing game drives, walking safaris and boat trips by day, and hugely fun, delicious dinners by night.

We’ve teamed up with Beho Beho to save our guests over £3,000 per person on a 7 night stay. And we would definitely recommend 7 nights, as Beho Beho is more like a home in the bush, rather than somewhere you just rush through for a night or two. If you come back with new friends for life and instantly book to return, we’ll try hard not to say we told you so- Beho Beho’s endless rave reviews are there for a reason!

7 nights including domestic flights from Dar es Salaam costs from £4,920 per person sharing, a saving of £3,050 per person. International flights, and special offers on shorter stays are available on request.

Valid for travel 1st November 2022 to 14th March 2023 Excluding Xmas / New year – 21st December to 03 January incl)

Want to know more?

Green Season, Kenya, Masai Mara, Trip Reports

Trip Report: November 2022, Kenya, Diani and Masai Mara

November 22, 2022November 24, 2022 Alexandra Matts

Our gorgeous clients Ben and Jenna just came back from Kenya, and left us the loveliest trip report.

Sorry- very long email- the short version if you’ve read this far is that “it was wonderful, thank you.” If you want to use any quotes for your marketing/testimonials please feel free, or let me know if you want me to expand on anything. It really was fabulous.

It was a fantastic trip, thank you. Obviously missing the first 24 hours on the beach was a bit of a shame, and we will be claiming from Kenya Airways for this. Other than that, all was wonderful. We had extra leg room seats on the outbound flight- thank you if that was your doing- it really made a difference! We also really appreciated the service from the ground team at NBO. I wasn’t expecting to be met before passport control and whisked through the Priority lane- a nice surprise!

The airport hotel was nice and transfers to Diani all went smoothly. Asha was a great hotel- we had a lovely room with a sea/pool view, and we had a blissful stay there. We had no guilt whatsoever about lack of exploration there; I did want to visit the monkey sanctuary as I love colobuses but one kindly visited the garden, so that meant no need to leave the hotel grounds. We took a snorkelling trip with the hotel’s boat out to the nearby reef which was spectacular.

I also managed to find a small family of pipefish further down the beach, which was wonderful although slightly hair raising as I hadn’t anticipated so many sea urchins. The sea in front of the hotel is clear of them, but a few hundred metres away they are everywhere. I’d love to go back for more snorkelling and relaxation.

As for safari, both camps treated us very well indeed- the staff were really lovely at both. Basecamp Explorer was pretty simple, as you had said- however I wasn’t anticipating such a pretty view either from the tent or the main camp and our tent was comfortable. Eagle View was simply stunning. Unfortunately our arrival at Eagle View coincided with the arrival of the rains, and they were fairly torrential all afternoon and most of the night. As a result, our evening game drive was cancelled (and it was a bit cold for a couple of days). However, we had an extended drive the following morning, with a bush breakfast, which more than made up for any disappointment.

All of our drives were productive, both in the main reserve and Naboisho. I didn’t keep count but we must have seen around 40 different lions at 8-10 sightings. On our drive from the airstrip to Basecamp, we had a great view of a leopard stretched out on a rock in full view, and then saw her the following day (or the one after- I forget) with a carcass. The second viewing was too crowded for comfort (20 vehicles) but I was impressed that David kept his distance and didn’t block her exit, as many cars were doing. We also had a third leopard sighting, but she was very deep in the bush- I think we saw an ear and half her head.

We also had two cheetah sightings, both mothers with cubs, and I was really pleased to spot one chasing (and then, out of sight, killing) a warthog piglet from the public area at Eagle View. I had never seen a cheetah before and it was absolutely wonderful to see them; such stunning cats. I was very impressed David took us down to get a better view of them feeding even though we’d already had a long drive with him that morning. We also saw a hyena take a baby impala from the camp viewing point, plus lots of interesting animal interractions (lions mating, zebra fighting, hyena cubs tumbling around etc…)

Other highlights- the huge number of hyena in both the reserve and Naboisho. Wonderful creatures to watch. I was thrilled to see my first secretary bird, and then 4 more- as well as my first ever wildebeest (lots of them!) Bat eared foxes, eland and spring hares were other favourites, and Jenna loved the hippos. We saw everything we wanted to see (except rhino, which we knew were extremely unlikely and which we’d seen a few years ago in Nairobi NP) and then lots more besides. No elephant in Naboisho, but we saw two families in the reserve. The night drive following a big pride of lions on the hunt was especially thrilling.

The walk we took was lovely- great to get some exercise- but as I suspected it was very much more an ‘exercise walk’ rather than being a really informative guide to nature, like I experienced in Zambia. That was fine though, it was nice to get the opportunity to walk further rather than stop at every skull and piece of dung. David and Fiona (a trainee guide who joined us) were really lovely and helpful and both great company. We had them to ourselves most of the time- a nice surprise; I’ve never had a private game drive before. We did occasionally join with other guests which was fine too.

We were really pleased with the guiding and service at both camps- it wasn’t exactly slick but was delivered with real friendliness and warmth, which was perfect for us. As for the destination, the Maasai Mara was exceptional. I have never seen such vast landscapes, with so many animals- a really different experience to other safaris I’ve taken. The reserve and Naboisho have different enough landscapes to make visiting both really worthwhile, it didn’t just feel like ‘more of the same.’ Other than that one leopard incident, I didn’t find the Talek area too overcrowded or busy- we had several interesting sightings to ourselves, and plenty of times where no other cars were visible. There were some cattle grazing in both areas (and a herder who seemed particularly interested in peering across the river at Basecamp at the outside shower!) but I didn’t find the presence of the village annoying- if anything it just showcased the realities of conservation. We did visit a Maasai village as well, which was slightly awkward but an interesting experience and, I think, worthwhile.

We had a fairly eventful flight back to Nairobi, stopping at 2 airstrips on the way. On the first (short) hop, we had the plane to ourselves. Then had a chat with the co-pilot on the tarmac while waiting for other passengers to arrive. The chosen conversational topic was air disasters, which was slightly surreal. At the second stop, the plane’s battery ran out of voltage (?!) and so we couldn’t take off. We were beginning to wonder about how to get to Nairobi for the following day’s flight home, but Safari Link called another plane to come pick us up. Fortunately it had enough seats free for us. We made it to Nairobi in time to use the hotel pool. I can’t imagine BA or Ryanair being that efficient!

Thanks for organising everything- it really all went very smoothly and it felt like a real luxury to know that all details were being taken care of without ever having to think for ourselves. That sounds really lazy- we both are fairly capable travellers and enjoy exploring by ourselves- but for this trip it was so nice just to be looked after at every step of the way. Although it was a relatively short trip, the time passed slowly (in a good way) so that, even though I’d quite happily stay for another few weeks/months, we didn’t feel like we’d missed anything, or had regrets about not doing x, y or z. 5 nights on safari felt like a good amount of time- I don’t think ‘too long’ would be possible, but it didn’t feel too short.

We’d love to do another trip and would definitely get in touch with you first. Unlikely to be 2023 (though I am not giving up hope). I don’t think there is anything of note I’d change about this trip; we’d be very happy to return to any of the hotels/camps in future; especially Eagle View which was a real highlight. For me it was my first ‘proper’ safari- flying in, not sleeping in a dome tent- and it was the best. More importantly, other than that one drive in Nairobi NP while on a long layover, it was Jen’s first safari, and it really exceeded her expectations and fulfilled her safari dreams. She agrees it’s not a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience and something that we need to do again. Thanks for delivering such a great experience for both of us.

Adventure, Africa, South Luangwa, Trip Reports, Zambia

Trip Report- Zambia 2022

July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 Alexandra Matts

Sarah and Gary have taken several adventures with us, but this time, decided to return and introduce Sarah’s mum to the magic of safari, taking in the South Luangwa National Park and Victoria Falls.

I really wanted to email you properly and tell you what a wonderful time we all had.

This time 2 weeks ago….we were having our first meal at Flatdogs and my Mum had just spotted her first hippo, in the camp! It was so funny because she didn’t quite know what to make of it. We just sat there eating our meal whilst one of the staff shined a torch on it for us to see. She kept saying, ‘is it ok?’ ‘are we safe’. I just said, ‘yes Mum, soak it up and enjoy the moment’. She didn’t sleep great the first night, she was a little anxious as she’s never experienced anything quite so wild, we had elephants eating all the trees right up to our tents all night. Even though she didn’t sleep that night, she soon settled straight in to safari life and was well away with it all.

Gary and I mainly wanted to go to Zambia to see leopards and wild dogs. We assumed everything else was a done deal, but those illusive lions proved to be the tricky ones. We had the most amazing guide, Geoffrey, he could see how passionate we are about wildlife, conservation and environment and went above an beyond to try and find us what we wanted to see.

So we saw our leopard first, got some great photos of him too. Then, quite unbelievably, using his tracking skills, Geoffrey found us a pack of hunting wild dogs !! First he found paw prints, then fresh poo, we back tracked for a short while, he pointed out where their den was, then there they were. A pack of approximately 20 wild dogs!!! I actually had a tear in my eye as I never thought I would see them. They were really lively. They had just made a kill and were sharing the food between them when an impala ran out from nowhere then they were back on the hunt !! They were unsuccessful on that occasion which I hate to say I wasn’t too upset about as Geoffrey had explained they ate their prey alive 😦 we were glad to miss that bit. We went on to see 2 more leopards and the same pack of dogs on another day.

After 3 safaris Gary and I were starting to worry that we weren’t going to see lions !! We shouldn’t have doubted Geoffrey, he knew what was on our list and lions were next. We drove far north and found approx. 300 strong herd of buffalo. Geoffrey said to us, ‘where there’s buffalo, there’s lions’ and he wasn’t wrong. He said to us he was going to look for a place for our sundowner then we would go on to look for the lions once the sun had gone down a bit more. So we circle around this area by the river, then we circled again, then again. Then there they were, perfectly camouflaged on the grass, 4 lionesses!!

So we watched them for a few minutes, popped off for a gin and a safe wild wee then returned just as they were moving off towards the buffalo. Oh my god Alex, it was so exciting and I felt so privileged as were the only car there and what we were about to see was amazing. The lions hid in the bushes, then one moved out and around whilst the buffalo tentatively moved through them. It was fascinating to see as you watch this on the BBC but were actually watching it real life. OK, so they missed the one they tried to catch, then they slipped off in to an area we couldn’t get to but they were following the buffalo and Geoffrey said he was certain they would be successful tonight. As we headed off back to Flatdogs, on a high from seeing 4 lions, we then went; on the see another 3.

The next morning, my Mum was very tired so she enjoyed some time on her own in camp whilst Geoffrey took us off back to the where we left then lions. We met a jeep on the way driving 2 girls, one was asleep and one was on her phone, Geoffrey asked the driver if he had seen the lions and he said no, but I thought to myself, why should that guide even bother trying whilst the 2 guest appeared to be showing no interest at all in where they are (we saw a lot of that indecently).

Anyway, Geoffrey, being the determined guide he was, was sure they would be there somewhere and thanks to the alarm calls of the puku and the circling vultures, he drove completely off track (I’m not sure we were supposed to be there!) and there they were!! 4 lions looking considerably fatter than they did the night before, trying desperately to fend off the impatient vultures. Amazing!!!

So I then jokingly set Geoffrey a task, I said I bet you can’t find me a porcupine ! Well he did !!! And a honey badger! I mean, what would be the chances. I shouldn’t forget our spotter too, Elias, with the torch, he as the one who found us a leopard one evening, meters in to the park on our last drive. he was working hard to shine the torch in the right places and even found us an African eagle owl!!

I loved Flatdogs, the management was very friendly, down to earth and easy to talk to, networking with guests each evening, it was also really nice how they met you from your safari each time you returned, interested to know what you had seen. The staff were just wonderful, I will never know how they remembered our names every time they spoke to us. The food was absolutely delicious and we had no worries at all about being vegetarian. The tents were totally adequate and I didn’t really want to leave there.

So then we were on to Chundukwa, where I can safely say I probably put on 5lbs hahaha. I don’t think there chef would be out of place in a really good restaurant in the UK somewhere. Knocked socks off most places we’ve eaten. I even asked for one of the recipes one evening. Really lovely setting, nice lodge, very comfortable and Doug and Gail were lovely. Poor Gail was really unwell with flu so we didn’t her too much much I could have talked to Doug for hours, he’d obviously led a very colourful life and had a real passion for conservation and local people which was really nice.

Gary and I tried a bit of horse riding, and we did the sunset cruise which was lovely too but my mum skipped that bit as she’s terrified of water and thought a hippo would upturn the boat !! hahaha. Got soaked at the falls, Gary and I walked to the boiling pot, then we went off and had lunch at The Royal Livingstone, lovely to experience but definitely not my style of accommodation, too many people, much preferred Chundukwa. We did the rhino walk which was really good too, very expensive but hopefully that money is being used in a good way and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity isn’t it?

Thank you Sarah for sharing your lovely trip with us!

Kenya

Kenya Trip Report- January 2021

January 28, 2022 Alexandra Matts

Our intrepid clients, Rachel and Richard, refused to be thwarted by omicron and covid travel bureaucracy, and spent 10 days on safari in Kenya in January.

Hi Alex

Thank you for organising such a great trip for us.

Our driver, Ambe, was great. His knowledge of the wildlife in Amboseli was excellent and he was very personable and easy to get on with.

Sheldrick (note: this is the Nairobi elephant orphanage) was great. Probably a good time to go with visitor numbers being restricted.

Visiting the Nairobi Elephant Orphanage (c) Extraordinary Africa

As I already told you, we loved Amboseli. I’m always happy to see lots of ellies and we loved the birds there.

Amboseli Elephants (c) Extraordinary Africa

I must admit that when we arrived at Basecamp (note: this was their camp in the Masai Mara) I was worried about how basic it was (even though you’d warned me). However, by the next day I’d settled in and started loving the place. We were lucky and got a land cruiser to ourselves, which I presume is because we were there for five days. We had a trainee with our guide and, again, we got on well with them.

Game drive in the Masai Mara (c) Basecamp Mara

You’re right about the number of animals in the Mara – so many lions! I was very chuffed to see the coalition of four cheetahs (that used to be five), as I’ve seen them on a few TV shows. We were excited to see servals for the first time. We also had better leopard views than I’d ever thought we’d get in the Mara.

Cheetah in the Masai Mara (c) Basecamp Masai Mara

Nairobi airport departures! Now that’s an experience! I think it must have been the safest flight ever with the amount of times our bags were x-rayed 😂 We often find though that other airports around the world feel like complete chaos (San Jose in Costa Rica springs to mind).

Flying out of the Masai Mara (c) Extraordinary Africa

Now I know why you booked us into the hotel for a meal before flying instead of leaving us at the airport for hours. We paid for health club passes for showers and had a lovely meal there.

We were both a little surprised at how busy Heathrow was and it did go through my mind whether we were doing the right thing or not, but I never had any worries the whole time in Kenya. Covid measures were in place everywhere and it’s such an outside holiday anyway.

The only problem now is choosing which to keep out of the hundreds and hundreds of photos 😃

So thanks again. It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Africa

What’re the current rules for Africa travel?

October 8, 2021 Alexandra Matts

These rules do change all of the time- but we’re here to update our travellers and help getting paperwork and testing in place so you can concentrate on having fun!

Africa, Kenya, Laikipia, Mountain Biking, riding safari, Walking Safari

Kenya is GO! Seriously Active Kenyan Safaris

September 24, 2021September 29, 2021 Alexandra Matts

It’s fair to say that some of us may have been guilty of being a little… sedentary over the last 18 months. So frankly, now we’re able to get out and about again, we’re ditching the game drive vehicles and getting active. Jogging with wildlife rangers, riding with rhinos, walking with Maasai warriors- yes please! Even better- now is the time to go, while parks are empty and special offers abound.

Running with Rangers at Ol Pejeta Bush Camp

Jogging isn’t something you associate too closely with safari, for risk of looking a little too much like… erm, prey. However, when surrounded by a team of experienced bush rangers, we feel pretty safe. Each day the rangers who protect the Ol Pejeta Conservancy head out on an early morning run, and guests at Ol Pejeta Bush Camp are more than welcome to join them. Needless to say, this is something you need to be pretty fit for- running at least 5km without stopping would be an absolute minimum requirement- but then there’s plenty of space for breakfast afterwards!

Walking safaris with Maasai Trails

After the stresses and strains of lockdown and isolation, calming down, slowing down, and reconnecting with world seems pretty appealing. The Loita Hills are an incredibly special area, home to traditional Maasai communities. They’re covered in dense woodland, known as the Forest of the Lost Child, which is sacred to the Maasai. Exploring on foot with Maasai Trails is a fabulous way to get to know the birds and butterflies of the forest, the medicinal plants, and most importantly, your Maasai hosts, usually young, fun warriors who are up to any hiking challenge- we’ve yet to hear of them being outpaced!

Riding with rhinos on Lewa

Lovely Lewa is a conservancy that’s captured many hearts, and the rolling downland is perfectly suited to riding safaris. As an added bonus, this is a stronghold for rhino within Kenya, so chances are, if you’re here for a few days, you’re more than likely to get lucky. There are horses to cater to both beginners and more experienced riders, with a weight limit of 85kgs for beginners and 90kgs for experienced riders.

For competent riders, we can arrange sleepouts, and multi-day rides. Riding is available from Lewa Wilderness, Lewa Safari Camp, Sirikoi and Lewa House, all on Lewa, and Borana (which also offers mountain biking for non-riders), on the neighbouring conservancy.

Mountain-biking on Loisaba

While riding safaris have long been popular, these days not everyone’s experienced on horseback and mountain biking has much the same thrill. Speeding along tracks in the open air, covering more ground than you ever could on foot, and yet feeling very much part of the bush. Loisaba Tented Camp is a brilliant spot to do this in- the views alone make the uphill bits worthwhile, and downhill is just exhilarating!

Raring to go?